The present invention relates to a telephone system and telephone devices which operate according to language-based scripts that load and run in real time within the telephone system and devices. This allows the system to be easily customized in function by modifying and/or adding new script language and loading these scripts into the system. Telephone devices connected to the server over a network detect new and updated scripts and load them for execution within the telephone. A particular example of such a system are IP based telephones that run the HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) language to control the telephone""s graphical display and incorporate a script-based API (Application Programming Interface) that allows the telephone""s functions to be directly controlled from a single script containing both HTML and telephone device API commands executing on the telephone. Such a system is optimally operated over a data network, where voice data in the form of packets is used for telephone services and data oriented scripts are used to control the telephone device, optionally allowing a single network and system to provide telephone services.
Current telephone systems, both analog and digital in a variety of settings, including both home and office use, are highly limited and fixed in functions that they provide. For example, the functionality of such telephones cannot be altered, but rather is limited to the factory-determined features.
A scripting based IP telephony system connects a scripting capable telephone to a scripting based server over a packet-switched network such as an IP (Internet Protocol) network, as its name suggests. These telephonic systems can receive data through such a network, and therefore can perform various voice mail and other telephonic functions through software on the connected server over the packet-switched network. Clearly, such a system is more flexible, since additional functions can be provided by adjusting the language based scripts that reside at the server and execute at both the server and telephone devices. Furthermore, such software can be customized by the user in order to perform these telephonic functions according to the request of the user. Thus, an IP scripting based telephony system provides a greater level of customization than non-scripting based telephones.
Additionally, even currently available IP telephony systems still lack flexibility, since the telephonic device which is connected to the dedicated server are not scripting language based. Although the software at the dedicated server can be customized, the same is not true of the telephonic device connected to the server. A more improved system would also include a flexible, customizable network telephonic device for receiving and transmitting the telephone calls. Unfortunately, such a system is not currently available.
There is thus a need for, and it would be useful to have, a network telephonic device which is itself flexible and customizable, and which is able to provide IP telephony services as part of an IP telephony system.